Did a birth control patch kill a healthy 18-year-old freshman at Trinity College? That’s what her mother, who struggled to raise Adrianna Duffy alone and got her into a private high school, is asking.

On the morning of Sept. 28, Leslie Niedner got a call from the dean of students. I’m so sorry, he kept saying. Her daughter Adrianna had collapsed in her dorm room. The 17-year-old died of a pulmonary embolism – a blood clot in her lung.

Leslie can’t remember who first asked whether Adrianna had been using a contraceptive patch. A few minutes online revealed dozens of similar horror stories. She’s now convinced that Ortho Evra, the target of thousands of lawsuits across the country, had taken her daughter.